NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Prime Minister attended the 2nd
Global COVID-19 Virtual Summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a
reform of the UN health authority and a review of its vaccine approval
processes a week after the government challenged the WHO’s numbers for
mortality during the Covid outbreak.
Mr. Modi also called for the World Trade
Organization to be more flexible on the issue of patent waivers, where a joint
India-South Africa proposal made in 2020 has yet to be adopted, speaking at the
second global Covid summit, which was virtually addressed by US President
Joseph Biden and a number of other leaders including from the African Union,
European Union, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Japan, and South Korea.
Key Points:
a)
Taiwan
was invited to the meeting by the US and other hosts, but China and Russia
declined.
b)
In
the years 2020 and 2021, the WHO predicted 4.7 million fatalities in India,
directly or indirectly due to Covid-19, over 10 times what the government
estimates, making India’s death toll the largest in the world.
c)
More
than 30 countries attended the conference, which was co-hosted by the United
States, Belize, Germany, Indonesia, and Senegal.
d)
According
to a press statement from the US government, the 2nd global covid summit
resulted in more than $3 billion in additional financial pledges from
participation, multilateral and charitable organisations, on top of promises
made in 2021 and 2022.
Note: WHO Director General: Tedros
Ghebreyesus
2. Manik Saha named as new chief
minister of Tripura:
Rajya Sabha MP and BJP state president Manik Saha is all set to take over as
the new Chief Minister of Tripura. Manik Saha, the BJP State unit president and
lone Rajya Sabha MP from Tripura, was elected as legislature party leader at a
meeting held at the Chief Minister’s official residence. The decision was taken
at a legislature party meeting following the resignation of CM Biplab Kumar
Deb.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has
stepped down from his position after meeting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
president J.P. Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a two-day trip to
New Delhi. Mr. Deb made the announcement after submitting his resignation to
Governor S.N. Arya at the Raj Bhavan in Agartala. The State is slated to go to
Assembly elections in 2023.
Note: Tripura Capital: Agartala; Tripura
Chief Minister: Biplab Kumar Deb; Tripura Governor: Satyadeo Narain Arya.
3.
Sanjiv Bajaj appointed as President of Confederation of Indian Industry: Chairman of Bajaj
Finserv Limited, Sanjiv Bajaj has assumed the office of Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) President for the year 2022-23 after replacing the CEO of Tata
Steel, TV Narendran. The newly constituted National Council of Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) at a meeting elected its new office-bearers for the year
2022-23.
Other Appointments: The Chairman and
CEO of Hero MotoCorp Limited, Pawan Munjal has taken over as CII
President-Designate for 2022-23. Executive Vice Chairman of TVS Supply Chain
Solutions, R Dinesh has been appointed as a Vice President of CII.
Note: Confederation of Indian Industry
Founded: 1895; Confederation of Indian Industry Headquarters: New Delhi, India;
Confederation of Indian Industry Director-General: Chandrajit Banerjee;
Confederation of Indian Industry Motto: Charting Change Enabling Development.
4.
Nidhi Chibber named as CBSE new chief: Senior IAS officer, Nidhi Chibber has been
appointed as the chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
in a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre. Chibber, a 1994
batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Chhattisgarh cadre, is currently
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries. She has been appointed as
chairperson of the CBSE in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to the
government of India, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry.
About the CBSE: The Central Board
of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India
for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of
India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board was
indeed a bold experiment toward inter-state integration and cooperation in the
sphere of secondary education. There are approximately 26,054 schools in India
and 240 schools in 28 foreign countries affiliated to the CBSE.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. COP15 Session on combating
desertification: Bhupender Yadav led the Indian delegation: The Indian team,
led by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender
Yadav, arrived in Abidjan, Cote D Ivoire, for the UN Convention on Combating
Desertification’s 15th Conference of Parties (UNCCD COP15). The fourteenth
session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification was held in New Delhi, and India is the current president of
the organisation. Key Points:
a)
Despite
the covid outbreak, India made major contributions to bringing nations together
to achieve the global aim of preventing and reversing land degradation during
its presidency.
b)
During
India’s presidency, G-20 leaders, recognising the importance of countering land
degradation and developing new carbon sinks, set an aspirational goal of
planting 1 trillion trees collectively by 2030, urging other countries to join
forces with the G20 to achieve this global goal.
c)
The
fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which will take place in
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, will bring together leaders from governments, the
private sector, civil society, and other key stakeholders from around the world
to drive progress in future sustainable land management and to explore links
between land and other key sustainability issues.
d)
These
problems will be considered at the high-level phase and will include a Heads of
States Summit, high-level roundtables and interactive dialogue sessions, as
well as a variety of additional special and side activities.
e)
Drought,
land restoration, and associated enablers including land rights, gender
equality, and youth empowerment are among the conference’s major priorities.
COP15 is expected to galvanise sustainable solutions for land restoration and
drought resilience through resolutions made by the UNCCD’s 197 Parties, with a
significant focus on future-proofing land usage.
Note: Union Minister for Environment,
Forest and Climate Change: Shri Bhupender Yadav
2.
Forbes’ Global 2000 list of public companies worldwide 2022 announced: Forbes’ Global 2000
list of public companies worldwide 2022 announced. Forbes Global 2000 ranks the
largest companies in the world using four metrics: sales, profits, assets and
market value. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd climbed two
spots to No. 53 on Forbes’ Global 2000 list of public companies worldwide 2022.
Reliance is the top-ranked Indian firm on the list, followed by State Bank of
India at No. 105, HDFC Bank at No. 153 and ICICI Bank at No. 204.
Globally: Berkshire
Hathaway took the No. 1 spot for the first time since Forbes started publishing
the Global 2000 in 2003, dethroning the Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China, which dropped to No. 2 after nine consecutive years at the top of the
list. Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) took the 3 Spot.
Other top 10 Indian firms on the list
include state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at 228 ranks,
Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) at No. 268, Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC) at No. 357, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) at No. 384,
Tata Steel at No. 407 and Axis Bank at No. 431.
3.
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day: 17th May: The World Telecommunication
and Information Society Day (WTISD) is observed each year on 17th May to
increase awareness of the benefits and opportunities that the Internet and
other information and communication technologies (ICT) provide to nations,
societies, and economies. It also hopes to raise awareness about how to close
the digital divide. Digital technologies for older persons and healthy ageing
is the theme for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day this year.
History: The World
Telecommunication Day was established in 1969 to commemorate the founding of
the International Telecommunication Union on May 17, 1865. The World Summit on
the Information Society, however, recommended the United Nations General Assembly
to establish May 17 as World Information Society Day in 2005. The UN General
Assembly decided in March 2006 that WISD would be held every year on May 17th.
In 2006, the ITU decided to combine the two holidays and name it World
Telecommunication and Information Society Day at a Plenipotentiary Conference
in Antalya, Turkey.
4.
World Hypertension Day: 17th May: World Hypertension Day is observed every
year on 17th May, to raise awareness and encourage hypertension prevention,
detection, and treatment. The major risk factor for cardiovascular disease is
high blood pressure and hypertension is known as the “Silent Killer”. The force
produced by flowing blood on the walls of the body’s arteries, or main blood
vessels, is known as blood pressure. When blood pressure is excessively high,
it is called hypertension. Blood pressure is measured as a two-digit figure.
When the heart contracts or beats, the first number (systolic) shows the
pressure in blood vessels. The second number (diastolic) indicates the pressure
in the arteries while the heart is at rest between beats.
History: The World
Hypertension League (WHL), which is an umbrella organisation for 85 national
hypertension societies and leagues, has recognised and inaugurated World
Hypertension Day (WHD). The goal of the day was to raise hypertension
awareness.
On May 14, 2005, the WHL debuted their
inaugural WHD. Since 2006, the WHL has designated May 17 as World Hypertension
Day.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Thomas Cup Title: India beats
Indonesia 3-0:
India’s men’s badminton team wins the Thomas Cup title for the first time ever
with a stunning 3-0 win over powerhouse Indonesia in the final. India took on
14-time winners Indonesia in the final of the Thomas Cup in Bangkok, Thailand
and lifted the title defeating the defending champions by 3-0. India dished out
a performance for the ages with World Championships medallist Lakshya Sen,
Kidambi Srikanth and the world number 8 doubles duo of Chirag Shetty and
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy producing memorable performances.
Key points of the Thomas Cup title:
a)
India
was off to a perfect start as Lakshya Sen defeated Anthony Ginting by 8-21,
21-17, 21-16 in a thrilling tie.
b)
India’s
doubles pair Satwik and Chirag defeated Ahsan-Sukamuljo 18-21, 23-21, 21-19,
the most sensational victory of their career, to give India a 2-0 lead.
c)
In
the third game, Kidambi Srikanth defeated Jonatan Christie 21-15, 23-21 to make
it 3-0. They have done it without losing a match in the final.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI imposed Rs 59 lakh penalty on
KEB Hana Bank:
Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 59 lakh on the Korean bank,
KEB Hana Bank for non-compliance with the certain norms related to ‘interest
rate on deposits. The Korean bank has been penalised for non-compliance with
the directions issued by RBI on ”Reserve Bank of India (Interest Rate on
Deposits) Directions, 2016”.
The statutory inspection for supervisory
evaluation of KEB Hana Bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its
financial position as on March 31, 2020. RBI, however, said the penalty is
based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to
pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the
bank with its customers.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Kenyan nurse Anna Qabale Duba
crowned world’s best nurse: Anna Qabale Duba, a Kenyan nurse stationed at the
Marsabit County Referral Hospital, won the inaugural Aster Guardian Global
Nursing Award for endorsing education and campaigning against outdated cultural
practices like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in her community. Duba, who took
home USD 250,000 (approx. Ksh.29 million) in prize money, was feted by Emirates
CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum at an award ceremony held in Dubai, which
commemorated the International Nurses Day.
While receiving the award, Duba, the only
female graduate in her village, revealed that she, through her Qabale Duba
Foundation, had built a school in Marsabit which offers classes to young pupils
and adults looking to get a decent education during the day and evening
respectively.
Note: Kenya Capital: Nairobi; Kenya
Currency: Shilling; Kenya President: Uhuru Kenyatta.
OBITUARIES
1. Former Australia Cricketer Andrew
Symonds Dies In Car Accident: Former Australian all-rounder Andrew
Symonds has been killed in a car crash. The 46-year-old, who played 26 Tests
and 198 one-day internationals for Australia from 1998 to 2009, was involved in
a single-car accident outside Townsville in Queensland state. Symonds was also
a top-rate fielder and was a key part of Australia’s back-to-back 50-over World
Cups triumphs in 2003 and 2007.
Domestically, he played for Queensland for 17 seasons, while appearing for Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire and Surrey in the English County Championship and for Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. Symonds, who was born in England with one parent of Afro-Caribbean descent, will also be remembered for the infamous “monkeygate” scandal that sent him into a downward spiral. He accused India spinner Harbhajan Singh of calling him a “monkey” in Sydney’s 2008 New Year Test.
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